BDX vs DHR vs MDLN Stock Comparison

Becton Dickinson, Danaher and Medline Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BDX Becton Dickinson & Co
$198.85 +8.8% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$53.87B
P/E
57.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.25B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
5 wins
DHR Danaher Corp /De/
$230.44 +3.9% 1M +3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$164.19B
P/E
41.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.11B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
5 wins
MDLN Medline Inc.
$34.09 -0.6% 1M
Market cap
$28.91B
P/E
34.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Danaher leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Danaher 5, Becton Dickinson 5, Medline 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBDXDHRMDLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.87B $164.19B $28.91B DHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.2x 41.0x 34.5x MDLN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 25.5x 23.7x BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.4% +4.6% — BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 15.9% 2.9% DHR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% 5.7% 5.4% DHR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 2.9x 3.2x DHR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +3.5% — BDX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.3%/yr -6.0%/yr — BDX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.8% 30.6% 44.6% DHR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 60/100 67/100 BDX

Percentile Scorecard

BDXDHRMDLN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisBDXDHRMDLN
Valuation 89 #25 of 228 67 #75 of 228 81 #44 of 228
Growth 48 #117 of 222 20 #178 of 222 –
Profitability 78 #48 of 210 88 #27 of 210 71 #61 of 210
Financial Health 26 #178 of 241 46 #131 of 241 41 #143 of 241
Shareholder Returns 95 #8 of 138 77 #32 of 138 73 #38 of 138
Overall 67 60 67
  • BDX ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • DHR ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDLN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodBDXDHRMDLNSPY
1 month +8.8%+3.9%-0.6% -1.0%
3 months +27.2%+20.3%-12.0% +2.9%
6 months +30.7%+30.0%-23.8% +6.4%
Year to date +2.5%+0.7%-18.8% +11.4%
1 year +6.6%+3.5%— +13.1%
3 years -23.3%+17.1%— +79.4%
3 years, per year -8.5%+5.4%— +21.5%
5 years -19.5%-26.5%— +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.3%-6.0%— +10.9%
10 years +15.4%+187.4%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.4%+11.1%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBDXDHRMDLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.8%30.6%44.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.1%31.7%48.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.340.440.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.210.11— 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-50.8%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-4.8%-31.8% -2.5%
52-week high $210.02$242.05$49.99 $779.14
52-week low $140.71$161.91$31.64 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleBDXDHRMDLN
P/E now vs peer median 58.1xmedian 30.7x 40.6xmedian 30.7x 34.9xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.0x 6.5xmedian 3.0x 1.6xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 17.7x 24.0xmedian 17.7x 17.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 23.7x 29.6xmedian 23.7x 28.2xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x 2.3xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.98median 0.96 -3.24median 0.96 —median 0.96

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsBDXDHRMDLN
Revenue $23.25B $25.11B $28.57B
Gross profit $10.91B $14.69B $7.79B
Operating income $2.48B $5.13B $2.03B
Net income $941.00M $4.00B $1.03B
Free cash flow $3.20B $5.47B $1.59B
R&D $1.37B $1.62B –
EPS (diluted) $3.42 $5.66 $0.97
Cash & equivalents $708.00M $4.35B $2.33B
Total debt $72.81B $26.56B $54.20B
Shares (diluted) 275.16M 707.60M 861.00M
Enterprise value $51.02B $148.00B $21.86B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricBDXDHRMDLN
P/E 58.1x 40.6x 34.9x
P/FCF 16.9x 29.6x 28.2x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 24.4x 22.3x
P/S 2.3x 6.5x 1.6x
P/B 2.2x 3.1x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 5.2x 8.1x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 24.0x 17.7x
EV/EBIT 28.3x 35.9x 27.0x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 7.3x 1.9x
EV/FCF 21.9x 33.7x 34.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.8x 27.8x 27.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.98 -3.24 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBDXDHRMDLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.4% 4.6% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.9% -0.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.7% 2.6% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -0.9% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 16.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% -7.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) -40.6% 17.3% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -17.3% -14.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) -38.0% 19.2% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.6% -12.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.5% 7.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% -7.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.2% 12.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% -9.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBDXDHRMDLN
Gross margin 46.9% 58.5% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 30.5% 10.8%
Operating margin 10.7% 20.4% 7.1%
Pretax margin 8.4% 19.0% 4.3%
Net margin 4.0% 15.9% 2.9%
FCF margin 13.8% 21.8% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 26.4% 7.0%
Return on equity 3.9% 7.6% 5.4%
Return on assets 1.9% 4.5% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 5.3% 5.7% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 6.0% 6.4% 5.6%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.2x 1.7x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.2% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBDXDHRMDLN
Debt / assets 33.1% 28.8% 32.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 2.9x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 5.2x 4.9x 7.9x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 43.1% 51.5%
Equity / assets 48.1% 56.9% 48.5%
Interest coverage 4.2x 17.6x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.7x 4.3x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.0x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 2.31 3.70 2.50

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBDXDHRMDLN
Dividend yield 2.1% 0.7% –
Net buyback yield 4.6% 1.8% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 6.7% 2.5% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusBDXDHRMDLN
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 25.5xFY2026 23.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.99FY2026 $9.03FY2026 $1.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +8.9% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.11BFY2026 $27.12BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -17.1%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% -1.6% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBDXDHRMDLN
Held by institutions 96.1% 81.9% 57.1%
Institutions holding 1,442 2,115 407
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +1.1% +17.9%
Institutions buying 688 837 322
Institutions selling 543 1,015 68
Buyers to sellers 1.27 0.82 4.74

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

BDXDHRMDLN
BDX 1.00 0.32 0.31
DHR 0.32 1.00 0.20
MDLN 0.31 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BDX, DHR and MDLN?

Danaher (DHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Becton Dickinson (BDX) $53.87B, Danaher (DHR) $164.19B, Medline (MDLN) $28.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, BDX, DHR and MDLN?

Medline (MDLN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.2x, Danaher (DHR) 41.0x, Medline (MDLN) 34.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x, Danaher (DHR) 25.5x, Medline (MDLN) 23.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%, Danaher (DHR) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Danaher (DHR) has the highest net margin (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%, Danaher (DHR) 15.9%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, Danaher (DHR) leads (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%, Danaher (DHR) 5.7%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Becton Dickinson (BDX) returned the most: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +6.6%, Danaher (DHR) +3.5%. Over five years, Becton Dickinson (BDX) compounded fastest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) -4.3%/yr, Danaher (DHR) -6.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Danaher (DHR) has been the steadiest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.8%, Danaher (DHR) 30.6%, Medline (MDLN) 44.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BDX, DHR and MDLN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Danaher (DHR) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.